Disney Fantasy ~ December 22, 2012 ~ 7 Night Western Caribbean

[EGHopeful]

Welcome Patty! Wow can't believe January is almost gone... one more month behind us.

 

[chuck2534]

Very very excited, just booked today !!!!! Anyone from the Philly areas??
me, DW and 12 year old daughter - i am so excited, our second DCL !!

 

[chuck2534]

Great to hear we have someone on board that has a recent experience on the Dream. bmer1rick, so do you have children or was it an adults event? What deck were you on? We are on deck 7 a category 4C I think it is. I know I won't be in my room much but I sure hope the lifeboats don't block too much of the view!

Was the entertainment for Christmas any different than during the normal cruise or was the decorations and special dinner pretty much it? I don't care really... I'm just glad I'll be on the boat. YEAH

Very very excited...

when i booked today i asked the rep about obstructed views and she said it is 6 and under---so u should be OK----I think i remember her saying the lifeboats are on deck 4---- we are one up on you (8) so I will wave to you

 

[princess81499]

Very very excited, just booked today !!!!! Anyone from the Philly areas??
me, DW and 12 year old daughter - i am so excited, our second DCL !!

We are about an hour away near Long Beach Island. Our oldest daughter will be 11 at the time of the cruise. Just booked Saratoga springs for the night before. Hoping to get a decent price on a flight Friday afternoon.

 

[HFC1969]

Hey guys can't wait for the Christmas Cruise. Setting sail on Mexican Riveria as we type.

 

[chuck2534]

We are about an hour away near Long Beach Island. Our oldest daughter will be 11 at the time of the cruise. Just booked Saratoga springs for the night before. Hoping to get a decent price on a flight Friday afternoon.

my daughter is bummed because all the theads are boys, so i will happily report to her that there is an 11 year old GIRL that maybe can hang in the edge with---- disney wanted 2200 bucks just for airfare, i was like are u kidding me?? we usually fly out of AC on Spirit dirt cheap, but they are only booking into september, so will have to keep an eye on it- we are right by the philly airport near delaware, and have a second home in OCNJ--
Hoping to fly out too on Friday nite, but right now DW wants to go saturday morning---
Chuck

 

[Great Scott]

my daughter is bummed because all the theads are boys, so i will happily report to her that there is an 11 year old GIRL that maybe can hang in the edge with---- disney wanted 2200 bucks just for airfare, i was like are u kidding me?? we usually fly out of AC on Spirit dirt cheap, but they are only booking into september, so will have to keep an eye on it- we are right by the philly airport near delaware, and have a second home in OCNJ--
Hoping to fly out too on Friday nite, but right now DW wants to go saturday morning---
Chuck

Chuck, my daughter will be 12 at the time of the cruise. (I assume she is the one you are referring to.) She is looking forward to going to the Edge club.

 

[TexasMouseFan]

We're in! We cannot wait to see the Fantasy. It's a girls only trip for us. I'm a single mom with 2 DDs (14 an 10). We are ready!

 

[junesgoofy]

We booked this cruise onboard our Alaska cruise last July as a dummy date. I think we are just going to keep this as the 2013 itineraries did not work well with our calendar. Cruising will be me, Patty, my husband, Mike and our two girls, ages 11 and 8. This will be our 6th Disney cruise.

My family was on the Eastbound 2008 repositioning Panama cruise too. I think I remember your Dis name. I'm sure once we see each other we will remember. My kids have gotten very tall since then. I'm sure yours have grown a bunch too! Looking forward to seeing you.

June Treece

My husband is KSDisneyDad!!!!

 

[JoeSchmieg]

My wife (Andrea) and I (Joey), no childeren, will be joining you on the First Christmas on the Fantasy. Please add us to any meets or whatever is going on! We will be staying one day in Beach Club Villas before the cruise to see atleast one of the parks decorated for Christmas. This will be our first time away from family @ Christmas but I have always wanted to try it.

Chuck2534, we are from Mount Laurel NJ, just outside Philadelphia.

FE... If no one has stepped up yet, I can coordinate the FE. I did it for our last cruise to Alaska and no one thew me over board so I guess I did okay.

Also... For the Alaska cruise I setup a facebook page for us to all join. Lets us see a bit more about each other before we cruise. If anyone has done this let me know I'd like to join. If people are against this for any reason let me know and will rethink. If a facebook page is setup it does take a good bit of the traffic away from the DIS boards.

Hate to rush winter, spring, summer and fall away, but I am ready to go now!

Joey

 

[chuck2534]

@ Great Scott ---That is awesome to hear that some girls will be on board !!! it seemed like all boys there for a bit----my daughter will be 12 - and is really looking forward to this trip---she was last on DCL at 5 years old so she really doesn’t remember to oceaneers club and the carnival cruises we have done do not even compare to Disney with the kids club----

For me I was looking at some snorkel/snuba excursions last night, December can't get here soon enough!!

 

[chuck2534]

@ Joey-

A double welcome to you !!! I just joined this weekend, so I am a newbie too-----and like you, we never traveled away from family for Christmas, so we are looking forward to it---Love the idea of the facebook page----I searched over the weekend and did not see anything so I would love to explore that cause I would find it easier there----it has been five years since I chatted on these boards, so I am a bit rusty-----hit me at chuck2534@aol.com if you would, and we could start something up if u want.

 

[Jessika]

Joey! I am so glad to have someone here who knows how to move things forward. I don't think there is a FB page yet but I am game. I also don't think there are any meets or even a FE set up yet.

For me, this is my first 'vacation' cruise although I've plenty of at sea time in the Navy. My 8 and 9 year old boys will be finding out about their Fantasy Christmas on their Bdays 3/31 and 4/2. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stand waiting to tell them.

I understand the basic idea about the FE and am intrigued. We are definitely in! Welcome! I look forward to cruising with all of you!

 

[JoeSchmieg]

I was able to create the Facebook page for us. Send me a friend request to Joe Schmieg, not sure if there are more than one of me so I am the one in Mount Laurel, NJ. If you can, indicate you are from the DIS boards, as I do not accept friends I do not know. I'll add you and you will be notified with a link..

I will post a writeup on the FE a bit later today. I want to find what I did for the laaka cruise and just re-post that. It answers a lot of questions people unfamiliar have.

Joey

 

[EGHopeful]

Wow! I'm even more excited. I was pretty good at work today, didn't look at the DISboards once! Thank goodness for LOTS of IT projects going on... hopefully that will make the year go by fast.

 

[JoeSchmieg]

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[JoeSchmieg]

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[JoeSchmieg]

Fish Extender (FE) Gifts - This is a fun "game" that is like a Secret Santa type idea. This description really fits on this cruise (Secret Santa)

Participating in the Fish Extender Gift Exchange will be limited to those who sign up PRIOR to the 45 day mark for the cruise. This is to encourage participation in the thread and to lessen the last-minute sign-ups which could happen. It also gives everyone adequate time to prepare supplies.

This means the deadline to sign up is: November 7, 2012.

Guidelines for our fish extender:
1. Each cabin is to provide AT LEAST one gift to each cabin participating in the fish extender. You can provide a gift to each person within that cabin, just the kids, or one gift for the whole cabin...that is up to you. Of course, you are welcome to give more than one gift...but the minimum is one.
2. All gifts are to be delivered between the cruise leaving port on Saturday December 22nd until 4 PM on Friday December 28th. This gives people time to still be able to pack their bags before we leave the ship the morning of December 29th.
3.Please include a tag with your DISboard’s user name on the gift. This way everyone knows who the gift is from.
4. To take part in the FE, please provide JoeSchmieg / Joe (I know my DisBoard name is sooo creative ) the following information (see below). I will post the master list periodically in this forum.
-DISboard user name
-stateroom number
-number of adults in the cabin
-number of children as well as their gender and ages
-anything else you want us to know (allergies, etc)
-personal e-mail address, so I can send the final list with cabin numbers
5. Don’t forget to check back to this thread with all the information!!!

Note:
I will keep 2 lists, the one published here will NOT contain cabin numbers. Only the list e-mailed to those participating will contain the cabin numbers to maintain some level of privacy.

After the sign up deadline of November 7th, I will complete master list for us to share. Then you’ll know how many FE gifts to prepare with the cabin number of where to deliver it.

Is anyone in Concierge? Does anyone know how to deal with this potential issue with getting FE gifts delivered to those in Concierge?

Let me know if I am forgetting anything.
Thanks!
Joe

PS: Here is a list of IDEAS of what you might want to bring for the FE on the cruise...to add to your packing list if you'd like:
1. The FE gifts that you are making/preparing -- total number will be announced after our November 7th sign up deadline.
2. An FE pocket/hanger to hang outside your cabin. You can find them on eBay by searching "Fish Extenders" or you can make one or search on line other places.
3. A zip tie to help attach your FE HANGER. Some people have commented theirs have sadly walked away...but if you attach it with a zip tie...then it is not as likely to walk away.
4. Scissors to cut the zip tie when you're packing...LOL! Don't want to leave it for someone else.
5. On the forum, some people recommend bringing thank you notes so you can write a quick note to the person who gave you a gift.

If anyone is just dieing to run a FE, I will happily step back as I have already done one!! If not, I am also happy to do it!!

 

[princess81499]

I was able to create the Facebook page for us. Send me a friend request to Joe Schmieg, not sure if there are more than one of me so I am the one in Mount Laurel, NJ. If you can, indicate you are from the DIS boards, as I do not accept friends I do not know. I'll add you and you will be notified with a link..

I will post a writeup on the FE a bit later today. I want to find what I did for the laaka cruise and just re-post that. It answers a lot of questions people unfamiliar have.

Joey

Just sent you a FB friend request. I noticed we share a common anniversary. My hubby and I were also married on 8/14, but in 1999!

 

[EGHopeful]

Hi Joe, I just sent a Friend request as well.

This is suppose to be a BIG surprise for my daughter for Christmas and I don't know if I'll be able to keep it a secret until December!!! HELP!